Amid the several regulatory scrutinies facing the Facebook-led Libra project, the social media giant has recently introduced a new payment system known as Facebook Pay.
Facebook announced on Nov 12 that it is launching Facebook Pay, a new payment system which makes payments easy and secure across the company’s social networks and apps, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Speaking on this, the Vice President of Facebook’s Marketplace and Commerce, Deborah Liu said,
People already use payments across our apps to shop, donate to causes and send money to each other. Facebook Pay will make these transactions easier while continuing to ensure your payment information is secure and protected.
The company clearly stated that Facebook Pay will be totally separate from the Libra network and it’s Calibra wallet.
They further added that the payment system is “built on existing infrastructure and partnerships,” since any payment made will be processed by Stripe, PayPal and other payment companies.
This payment system will be fully operational on Messenger and Facebook starting this week in the United States. For the meantime, it will be open for “fundraisers, person-to-person payments, event tickets and some purchases and businesses that operate on Facebook’s Marketplace.
As time progresses, Facebook Pay will be made available to a large audience including those making use of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The company, however, did not specifically mention when Facebook Pay will be open to people on all of its apps or the date of its international launch.
It is also quite interesting to note that this new payment system was introduced by Facebook just a few weeks after most of its major partners, including PayPal and Stripe, pulled out of the Libra project, after being pressured by U.S lawmakers to do so.
